MAJOLA DECLARED WINNER OF MGP SUPPORTERS CLUB JUNIOR MGP
Andrea Majola has been declared the winner of Saturday’s shortened MGP Supporters Club Junior Manx Grand Prix, the VAS Engine Racing rider getting the verdict from Maurizio Bottalico and Daniel Ingham.
A burst water main at Union Mills caused the initial race start to be put back by just over an hour but it got underway at 2.10pm with Majola leading at Ramsey on the second of three laps by more than 25 seconds. However, the red flag was shown was displayed due to an incident at Ballacrye and the race stopped.
The race was eventually due to be restarted on Monday evening but with wet weather and low cloud on the Mountain, Monday’s schedule had to be revised. This unfortunately meant that Saturday’s red-flagged MGP Supporters’ Club Junior Race will not be re-run. A result has now been declared from the standings at the end of lap 1 pursuant to point 8.92 of the Event’s Regulations.
Majola grabbed the lead straightaway, his advantage over Bottalico at Glen Helen on the opening lap some 5.1 seconds. He was only six tenths of a second ahead of Julien Cregniot as Ingham, Liam Chawke and Michael Gahan completed the top six, but Michael Rees (Performance Emissions Paton) was already out, the Welshman having stopped near Greeba.
Majola grabbed the lead straight away
Majola added another three seconds to his lead on the high-speed run to Ballaugh and by Ramsey he’d overhauled Bottalico on the road, the official gap now 10.2 seconds. Ingham had moved ahead of Cregniot with Chawke and Gahan still holding onto fifth and sixth.
An opening lap of 116.006mph saw Majola extend his lead over Bottalico (114.449mph) to 15.9s as they made their compulsory pit stop, Ingham (113.182mph) a further 13.2 seconds back in third. Cregniot (112.214mph) was still running well in fourth but it was close for fifth with just two seconds separating Chawke (111.220mph) and Gahan (111.028mph). Eoin Ó Siochrú, Jacque Foley, newcomer Toby Shann and Jason Corcoran rounded out the top ten.
Ingham was 13.2 seconds back in third
Eoin O’Siochru picked up a penalty for speeding in pit lane but Majola had no such issues and by Glen Helen second time around, his lead had gone out to 22.6 seconds. Ingham was a similar distance behind in third with Frenchman Cregniot now ten seconds back in fourth as Chawke edged away from Gahan after the pit stop.
Botallico took second
Majola continued to extend the gap to Bottalico throughout the second lap and by Ramsey it stood at more than 25 seconds. However, after the first dozen riders had passed through the hairpin, the red flag was displayed and the race stopped.
